After this weekend, the NFL preseason will be over, and teams will begin the final preparations to make cuts down to 53 players by the deadline.
With the San Francisco 49ers' injury woes, this exercise becomes even more complicated as they need to figure out how to make sure they have enough players to suit up for the Week 1 trip to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.
But still, it's fun to try and play general manager and figure out who the Niners will keep on their initial 53-man roster, trying to fit all the pieces together in order to create a roster that can begin the season and will allow them to get off to a good start to the 2025 campaign.
Quarterbacks (2)
QB1 Brock Purdy
QB2 Mac Jones
PS: Tanner Mordecai
I've been doing these predictions for years now, and one consistency of those predictions has been the idea of only keeping two quarterbacks on the 53 man roster.
The new rule that allows teams to elevate an emergency quarterback on gameday who doesn't count against the 46-man roster makes having a third QB even less logical. Not to mention the fact the 49ers have had a bit of a revolving door at QB3, suggesting nobody is in the lead there anyway.
So, go with two and keep whoever you like on the practice squad, since the season falling to that player almost always means the year is over.
Running backs (5)
HB Christian McCaffrey
HB Brian Robinson, Jr
HB Isaac Guerendo
HB Jordan James*
FB Kyle Juszczyk
No real surprises here.
CMC is the starter so long as he is healthy, and the team just traded for Robinson, so if he doesn't make the roster, then something weird has happened. Second-year back Guerendo can't be counted on to stay healthy, but he's a useful player.
Having Juszczyk back is also a no-brainer, even after the team let him walk in free agency for a few days. Rookie Jordan James should make the cut, but he probably goes straight to IR while he recovers from finger surgery, opening up a slot for someone like Jeff Wilson to make the team if he goes unsigned after an initial cut.
Wide Receivers (6)
WR1 Jauan Jennings
WR2 Ricky Pearsall
WR3 Skyy Moore
WR4 Russell Gage
WR5 Jordan Watkins
WR6 Jacob Cowing*
Reserve/Suspended: Demarcus Robinson
PUP: Brandon Aiyuk
This is a group that will look a lot different in a few weeks, as Robinson will come off the suspended list for Week 4, and San Francisco is hoping to see Aiyuk sometime between Weeks 6 and 8.
For now, the team is hoping Jennings, Gage, and Watkins will be healthy relatively soon, or else this will get even dicier.
Like James, Watkins will make the roster, and the Niners can decide how to deal with his injury once he's there. They said recovery would be a month, around 10 days ago, which means he could be ready for Week 2. But he's here either way.
As for Cowing, it feels like an IR move is coming, which means he'll make the roster, and then fingers will be crossed that someone like Junior Bergen or Isaiah Hodgins clears waivers.
Tight ends (3)
TE1 George Kittle
TE2 Luke Farrell
TE3 Jake Tonges
Easy at the top here, as Kittle is probably still the best tight end in all of the NFL, and Luke Farrell is here in order to make sure that Kittle isn't staying inline to block during the biggest moments of the game.
The question here is whether the 49ers end up keeping a fourth tight end and trying to preserve the Brayden Willis experiment, or if Tonges is sufficient as a depth piece at the position.
Offensive Lineman (8)
LT Trent Williams
LG Ben Bartch
C Jake Brendel
RG Dominick Puni
RT Colton McKivitz
OT Spencer Burford
OG Connor Colby
OL Matt Hennessy
The only real question, as least in my mind, is whether this group will be healthy enough as is, or if Puni and Bartch will need to be replaced for Week 1.
It isn't 100-percent clear that Bartch is the starter, as rookie seventh-round pick Colby is making plenty of noise as a possible starter at either guard, depending on the health of Puni and Bartch.
But all three are making the team, so that isn't really an issue. Burford feels set as the team's swing tackle with Andre Dillard on IR, leaving a single spot, which goes to Hennessy here, as a guy with experience at multiple interior line spots.
This could also be a spot where the 49ers take advantage of keeping two quarterbacks.
Defensive Lineman (11)
EDGE Nick Bosa
DT Jordan Elliott
DT Kalia Davis
DE Mykel Williams
EDGE Bryce Huff
DT CJ West
DT Alfred Collins
EDGE Robert Beal Jr.
DE Sam Okuayinonu
DT Kevin Givens
This group has a lot of bodies, but there's plenty of unknowns outside of Bosa, who appears to be quietly having a solid training camp.
The health status of rookies Williams and West is something to pay attention to, as is the improvement of fellow rookie Collins, who missed a good chunk of the offseason after a contract dispute.
After that, it's questions about which version of Huff you're getting, if Beal can build on a solid camp, and if they have enough on the edge to cause havoc for opposing quarterbacks.
This would be a space to watch the waiver wire for once cuts are made, especially considering the current EDGE depth beyond Bosa and Huff.
Linebackers (5)
MLB Fred Warner
SLB Dee Winters
WLB Nick Martin
LB Luke Gifford
LB Tatum Bethune
In truth, this is a solid group, especially if Winters can build on his exceptional training camp to take over the Dre Greenlaw role next to All-Pro Warner.
After a slow start to the preseason, rookie Martin seems poised to play a role on this team, and Bethune has looked to be a solid depth piece behind the starting trio. Gifford is here because he's excelled as a special teams ace.
Cornerbacks (6)
CB1 Deommodore Lenoir
CB2 Renardo Green
SCB Upton Stout
CB Chase Lucas
CB Darrell Luter Jr
CB Siran Neal
Another group you have to feel fairly solid about if everyone is healthy, as the trio of Lenoir, Green, and Stout have all looked good during training camp.
Lucas has earned his way on the roster with his spectacular showing in preseason games, and while he may not start, there's no doubt he'll have plenty of opportunities to play this season.
The last two slots feel a little shaky, but I have the 49ers refusing to give up on Luter just yet and Neal coming in as another special teams ace. There are other directions those spots could go, but this feels like the most likely pairing.
Safeties (4)
S Jason Pinnock
S Marques Sigle
S Ji'Ayir Brown
S Richie Grant
PUP: Malik Mustapha
First off, apologies to rookie Sigle, whom I singled out on an episode of the Niner Noise Podcast as a rookie most likely not to make the team. Now he's more likely to be the starter next to veteran Pinnock than miss out on the roster.
It's a pity Mustapha will miss the start of the season, as his rookie campaign was often outstanding. Brown gets to use the time until Mustapha returns to prove he should stay, while Grant is yet another special teams ace on a team that needed help in that area last year.
Special Teams (3)
K Jake Moody
P Thomas Morstead
LS Jon Weeks
No surprises here, especially after Jake Moody's late-game heroics in Las Vegas last week. They didn't get younger here with exchanging Morstead for Mitch Wishnowsky and Weeks for Taybor Pepper.
Still, it's the group that new special teams coordinator Brant Boyer wants, with the only real question being whether Moody can withstand an entire season without an issue.